Posts Tagged ‘glenn revere’

Making tufted carpet is complicated. Several steps in the process use heat. Some of those steps include twisting yarn, dyeing yarn, and curing the carpet backings. So heat and carpet is a good combination, right? Well, not always.

A high quality nylon carpet was installed in a second story condo. Approximately 18-24 months after the installation, the renter noticed the carpet was fading from tan to pink along the seams! The carpet had not been cleaned yet. The renter, acting on the owner’s behalf, turned in a claim. I was asked to inspect the job for the manufacturer. As always, I looked at the overall installation to make sure it mets industry quality standards. I have duplicated the main portion of my inspection report here. It explains my findings: (more…)

As a Certified Flooring Inspector, I field inspection requests from consumers, manufacturers, and installers. The complaints range across a wide variety of problems. Sometimes the blame for a problem is obvious. It is clearly one person’s or one entity’s fault. Sometimes things are not so obvious and I cannot clearly deduce who is at fault. Today’s Flooring Inspection Safari complaint falls into the latter category.

In this case, the consumer complained her newly installed engineered wood floors were scratched and chipped. She noticed the problems when she moved furniture into her home after the installation was complete. She called the installers and they returned to look at the damage. Then they filed a complaint with the manufacturer, who called me. I looked at the floor two months after the installation. I have included the body of my inspection report here for you. You’ll notice that I am always required to check the entire installation: (more…)

The process of layering materials together to form a product is called lamination. Any product made by layering materials together can separate under the right conditions. Engineered wood floors are made by gluing (laminating) several thin plies of wood together to form a board suitable for flooring. By definition, engineered wood is a plied board and can delaminate. That is, any of the layers can separate, including the veneer top sheet.

There is more than one reason why boards delaminate. My job as a flooring inspector is to figure out the exact reason for a flooring failure. Is the cause manufacturing, installation, or site/maintenance related?

Selecting a woven carpet for your home is a high-quality investment. But, because of cost, they only account for roughly 2% of the carpets installed in most residential homes.

The majority of woven carpets are made by machines nowadays. With the advent of machine-powered looms came more intricate colors and patterns, not previously possible with hand looms. So, consumers are now able to enjoy an (more…)

With cornrowing, cut pile carpet lays down in irregular rows 1⁄2 to 2 inches apart. This is a severe type of texture change. Most people think it is ugly. Cornrowing always runs across the traffic flow, but it even happens in little-used rooms that are only vacuumed. You’ll sometimes see it when a door drags across the carpet pile. It usually happens with longer piles, more than 5⁄8 inch, and softer, fine denier yarns, especially low-density carpets with low gauge and stitch rates.

Despite years of research and testing, no one has figured out why some carpets cornrow and others don’t. It is generally agreed that because (more…)

Recently, I received an inspection request from a major carpet manufacturer. The complaint involved carpet yarns pulling from the carpet backing.

The carpet was installed throughout a large, well-maintained two-story home. The consumer explained to me that she had found carpet yarns pulled from the backing throughout the installation. She acknowledged that she has a dog and two cats. But she was adamant that her pets had not damaged the carpet.

The carpet texture was a cut and loop pattern. The pattern formed a small grid. When I looked around the rooms, I noticed that (more…)

As discussed in a recent blog post, carpet shading is an apparent color difference between areas of the same carpet. Shading is seen all over a cut pile carpet. Pile reversal or reverse pile is an extreme form of shading with the pile yarns laying on their sides, causing the carpet to look darker in the affected areas. You see it mostly in high-traffic areas (think hallways) or at pivot points (like doorways). Pile reversal is similar to crushed-velvet furniture fabrics, with light and dark shades.

Some people think shading and pile reversal are ugly because the color is uneven. Others consider it the mark of a fine quality carpet. Oriental rugs often have shading or pile reversal. But the rugs’ ornate patterns tend to make these conditions less noticeable. At any rate, mills will not replace a carpet for pile reversal because they know the replacement will probably reverse, too. (more…)

Q: What type of carpet is best for high-traffic areas, like living rooms and hallways?

The family room, halls, and steps are the main traffic areas in any home. It makes sense to put the sturdiest carpet and pad in these areas. The investment is well worth it. A heavy frieze, tightly twisted short cut-pile, or Berber will hold up under a lot of traffic. And remember, when a carpet (more…)

Engineered wood flooring is a sturdy, long-wearing product. It is basically a thin veneer of real wood glued over a plywood base. The product generally comes factory-finished with a top coat wear layer. The cross-ply base gives the engineered wood floor more stability than a solid wood floor. It allows installation in areas not suitable for a solid wood product. Engineered wood also costs less than solid wood.

Engineered wood floors are popular today. Like any product, they can have problems. These problems can be related to manufacturing, installation or maintenance. As a certified flooring inspector, I see them all.

Recently, I was asked to look at a laminate floor installation. The complaint came in as “cracking and chipping.”

When I arrived at the ground floor condo and looked around, I could see that the owner was meticulous. Everything was perfectly in place, polished, and well maintained. The floor, which was 2 1/2 years old, looked like it had been installed last week. I glanced around and asked to see the problem areas. I expected to find planks with cracks or perhaps broken corners or edges.

She took me over to a short hallway that connected the bathroom and bedroom. Then she pointed to a 1” angled gash near the end of one plank.

I asked her when she first noticed this condition. She said it was about 6 months ago. That means the floor was perfect for two years. Then a plank suddenly split open all by itself!

I know that a plank won’t spontaneously split open, but I removed the necessary tools and gauges from my tool bag and began inspecting the floor. I checked all the usual things: sub-floor moisture levels; end joint stagger; room perimeter gaps; and flatness. Then I used a five-power lighted magnifier to closely examine the damaged area.

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Meet Your Flooring Expert

Glenn Revere is a nationally recognized Carpet Inspector who has dedicated his life to the study, maintenance, and sales of carpets. He specializes in carpet, laminate, hardwood, and engineered flooring. Glenn consults for individuals, manufacturers, and installers.